There is a fascinating story to the Cambodia casinos that lie just over the dividing line from next door Thailand, in which casino gaming is not permitted. Eight gambling halls are anchored in a generally tiny space in the city of Poipet in Cambodia. This band of Cambodia casinos is in a perfect location, a three to four hour drive from Bangkok and Macao, the two biggest betting centers in Asia. Cambodia casinos do a huge business with Thai workers and guests from Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, with just a few Westerners. The phenomenal income gained from the gambling halls ranges from $7.5 million to over 12.5 million dollars, and there are a couple of limitations requirements for gambling hall ownership. Ownership is assumed to be mainly Thai; however, financial sources are vague. The borders are formally open from 0900 to 17:00, and though visas are supposedly required to pass, there are means around this, as is correct of many borders.
The first Cambodia gambling halls premiered in Phnom Penh in the mid nineties, but were required to close in 1998, leaving just one gambling den in the capital, the Naga Resort. The Naga, a docked bateau gambling den, contains one hundred and fifty slot machines and 60 table games. The Naga river boat never closes with 42 tables of mini-baccarat, four tables of twenty-one, ten of roulette, two of Caribbean Stud Poker, and a single table each of Pai-Gow and Tai-Sai.
The original gambling den in Poipet, the Holiday Palace, premiered in the late nineties and the Golden Crown before long followed. A total of 150 slot machine games and five table games at the Golden Crown and one hundred and four one armed bandits and sixty eight tables at the Holiday Palace. The latest Holiday Palace Casino and Resort highlights three hundred one armed bandits and 70 table games and the Princess Hotel and Casino, also in Poipet, has one hundred and sixty six slot machines and ninety six gaming tables, including 87 punto banco (the most beloved game), Fan Tan, and Pai Gow. Additionally, there is the Casino Tropicana, with 135 one armed bandits and 66 of the familiar tables, as well as one table of Casino Stud Poker. Another one of the 8 gambling halls in Poipet, also in a hotel, is the Princess Casino with one hundred and sixty six slots and 97 table games. The Star Vegas Casino is is located in an all-inclusive resort and hotel complex that highlights numerous conveniences accompanying the gambling den, which offers 10,000 square feet of one hundred and thirty slot machines and eighty eight gaming tables.
